Mentally ill man who allegedly attacked Rep. Gerry Connolly's staff has violent history, police say

Authorities said that a mentally ill man who attacked Rep. Gerry Connolly's district office — shattering windows and striking two women, one of whom was an intern — first chased and threatened a woman with a metal baseball bat in a northern Virginia neighborhood.

Connolly's staff managed to shelter in an inner office until officers arrived, within five minutes. Connolly said they used a stun gun to subdue the man, identified as Xuan-Kha Tran Pham, 49, of Fairfax. He was held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on charges of malicious wounding and aggravated malicious wounding. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney pending his first appearance Tuesday.

Pham, 49, has been violent before, attacking police officers last year. His father, Hy Pham, told The Washington Post his son is schizophrenic and has dealt with mental illness since his late teens. He said he had been trying, without success, to arrange mental health care for his son. The father could not immediately be reached by The Associated Press.